A Sun's Flame
by Grassy Leaves
Summary: He was a rogue... She was a Warrior... One badger was all that it took, to start a forbidden love... A oneshot on Firestar's parents and how he got his Warrior blood. Takes place seasons before Into The Wild when Sunstar is leader. Read and Review!


**Here is my story A Sun's Flame. It's about Firestar's parents and why he was a kittypet instead of a clan-kit, and where he got his Warrior Blood.**

"Sunpaw!"

A golden dappled she-cat with green eyes padded up to the high rock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

The cats of ThunderClan crowded around Sunstar.

"I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Sunpaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Sunpaw answered, her green eyes blazing.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Sunpaw, from this day forth you will be known as Suntail. ThunderClan welcomes you as a full warrior."

"Suntail! Suntail! Suntail!" ThunderClan cheered.

"Suntail!"

I opened her eyes. "What?"

"The dawn patrol is going out now, would you like to join it?" Sunstar, my father called.

"Sure." I stretched and padded out of the den. The dawn patrol was leaving out the gorse tunnel just as she raced up.

"We'll be going along the RiverClan borders, they've been hostile lately," Sunstar decided.

"Can I come?" mewed Bluepaw.

"You have apprentice training, don't you?" Sunstar looked down at Bluepaw.

"But Lionpaw's going!" Bluepaw protested.

"Maybe another day," Sunstar meowed.

RiverClan's newest leader Crookedstar had been very hostile lately. He had been demanding that RiverClan own Sunningrocks instead of ThunderClan.

Sunningrocks had once belonged to RiverClan when it was surrounded by water, and it was an island, so naturally only RiverClan could reach it. Now that the river had dried up, it became part of ThunderClan's territory. Now, RiverClan wanted it back.

"We'll just check along the RiverClan border and then go check that badger set," Sunstar decided, "Thistleclaw reported that he smelled badger yesterday."

They kept padding along until they came to Sunningrocks. The stones were heated from the sun's rays and were relaxing on a hot, Greenleaf day.

"Be careful," Sunstar warned, "RiverClan seems to think there are no boundaries here."

I padded over and lay down on one of the stones.

"Attack!" I heard Crookedstar's yowl. All around me were RiverClan warriors, behind me, in front of me, and to the side of me… they were everywhere!

In a flash of fur and claws she saw Sunstar, "Be careful…" his words echoed in my mind.

"Get the golden one!" Crookedstar yowled to one of his warriors. Soon enough, I had a brown tom at my tail. He chased me into the forest, and I waited until he came close enough to claw his muzzle. We tussled a bit in the grass and I sent him flying backwards with a powerful kick.

The RiverClan warrior's eyes bulged and he stopped fighting.

"Aren't you going to attack?" I hissed.

There was no answer.

"I knew RiverClan warriors were cowards." I needed to get rid of him so that I could get back to the battle. I could hear the cries from out in the woods.

"Badger…"

I heard growling. Behind me was the full grown badger Sunstar had been meowing about!

I dashed to the bushes, and it glared right past me at the RiverClan warrior. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't see his fate. Claws ran down my back. The warrior was limp on the ground, his leg twisted backwards.

"Oh no…"

I had only been a warrior for about a season, and I was no match for a full-grown badger. My only hope was to run.

"Help!" I yowled into the silent forest. As I began to run, the cries of the battle were growing fainter and fainter. I hoped that maybe a hunting patrol would hear me.

"Help!" I was growing desperate. The badger was gaining on me, and I could feel it's warm breath on my neck.

I tripped over a rock and fell on the sandy ground. We were near a rocky gorge, and rocks were scattered everywhere. The badger sneered and raised its paw for the final blow.

A flash of orange flew by and the badger was pushed down the gorge to its death. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was an orange tom with friendly blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" I opened my eyes. The tom was still there.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"Not too long," he shrugged. "You're lucky I was passing by. That was a nasty badger."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Flame, the name's Flame. I live around here," he gestured around the forest.

"How come I haven't scented you before?"

"I try to keep out of the way of other cats, you know, clan cats."

"Well, for your information, I am a clan cat." I bristled my fur.

"No! I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, I…"

"Suntail! Suntail where are you?" I heard Sunstar's voice.

"I have to go now." I flicked my tail.

"Wait! Before you go… what's your name?" he asked.

"Suntail."

"Suntail!" I dashed into the forest away from Flame.

"I wonder if I'll ever see him again," I thought. Suntail and a patrol of warriors were yowling my name. I raced up to Sunstar.

"Suntail?" Sunstar touched his nose to mine. "We were so worried about you!"

"The battle! Did you chase those foxdung RiverClan warriors away?"

"I sent Lionpaw back to get some help," Sunstar explained, "What happened?" He saw my bloody golden coat.

"The badger," I answered, "It killed the RiverClan warrior and then chased me to the cliff where… it fell to its death." I didn't want to tell my father about Flame, yet.

"Come on… we'll take you back to camp and Featherwhisker will clean you up."

Featherwhisker made me stay in his den for a few sunrises to heal the scratches from the badger and the warrior.

Sunstar brought the body of the warrior to the border where he explained what happened. I kept thinking about Flame though, and I wanted to meet him again.

Without thinking, I found myself padding outside the gorse tunnel scenting for him. I raced back to the sandy gorge looking for him. He was there waiting for me.

"H-how did y-you know?" I stuttered, amazed at his calmness.

"I thought you would come back sometime or other," he shrugged. He touched his nose to mine. "Isn't the moonlight beautiful?"

"Yes… yes it is."

I continued sneaking out at night to see Flame. I learned how he hunted, and how he fought off rats near the barn. He told me of his mother who had died of greencough.

"My mother died also," my eyes clouded with sadness, "at a border patrol recently with RiverClan." He walked me back to camp, and I waved goodbye with a flick of my tail.

"Suntail?" Thistleclaw padded out of the shadows of the gorse tunnel sneering. We were still outside the camp.

"Thistleclaw."

"Who's that rogue?"

"What… rogue?" Had he seen me with Flame?

"The orange one."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I insisted.

"If you don't want your father to know…" he stepped closer to me.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," I raced through the tunnel quickly to the Warriors Den.

"You know what I'm talking about," he hissed as I left.

"Oh no." my mind raced, "He wants to blackmail me into being his mate." Ever since I had met him as an apprentice, he had been in love with me. Sure, he was a nice tom, but he was too aggressive and rude.

The morning was not much better. I tried to avoid Thistleclaw, after he had seen me with Flame.

The gathering was that night, and Sunstar was naming who was going. "I will be going, Lionpaw, Bluepaw, Suntail, Thistleclaw…"

"No!" I thought, "Now I have to avoid him at the gathering too."

I met up with Mosspelt, a new queen who I had met last gathering. She and I had both become warriors around the same time and we loved talking about the toms in our clans. She raved about how a tom named Blackclaw was starting to fall for her.

Blackclaw unfortunately was friends with Thistleclaw and when Mosspelt brought me over to introduce me, Thistleclaw was talking to him.

I asked Mosspelt if we could avoid Thistleclaw and she asked why. I told her it was because he was annoying me.

"You two would be so cute together though!" she mewed.

"No, we wouldn't," I insisted. I had another tom on my mind. An orange one…

"Hey Mosspelt?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something-"

"So… Thistleclaw," I heard Blackclaw's voice. "I've been thinking about… asking… um… if Mosspelt would be my mate."

"Good choice," Thistleclaw agreed, "She's a strong, beautiful she-cat."

"You really think so? She's really nice too." Mosspelt's eyes shone as we eavesdropped on their conversation.

"So Thistleclaw, who do you want as your mate?"

"You know that she-cat Suntail?" Thistleclaw asked. "Well I want Suntail as my mate."

"No!" I thought. I wanted to tell Mosspelt, but she nudged me with her tail before I could get a word in.

"The gathering is beginning." Sunstar's voice was heard all across fourtrees.

I sneaked away again to see if Flame was waiting for me.

"Flame?" I whispered. "Flame?"

"Suntail?" A voice came from behind me.

"Flame?" I jerked my head around to see Thistleclaw standing in the moonlight.

"So Flame is the name of this rogue?"

"I…"

"Don't go off with a rogue, he'll just use you, and you'll get in trouble," Thistleclaw growled. "I didn't think I would have to tell." He started to pad towards me. Swift as the wind, Flame came in using the same trick as the badger. Thistleclaw was ready though, and wasn't knocked over the gorge.

He knocked the wind out of Thistleclaw and they were lost in a fight on the silent ground.

Thistleclaw hissed. "Stay away from Suntail," Flame growled.

"I will not let Suntail become mates with a… rogue!" Thistleclaw growled back.

I jumped on Thistleclaw right before he could land the last blow. Thistleclaw, seeing me defending him, ran back into the forest.

Flame was breathing heavily. "Thanks," he murmured.

"No problem," I muttered. I was sure I was blushing. "I have to go."

"Don't…" Flame heaved, "I- don't go…"

"I'll go get some cobwebs," I assured him.

When I returned, I dressed his wounds, and he lay down on the moss.

Thistleclaw refused to even be a foxlength from me the next sunrise. I wasn't complaining.

I returned to see Flame more and more. It was only a matter of time before we were found, or Thistleclaw told. Thistleclaw became more and more foxhearted as time went on.

One day, on the way back from hunting by myself I saw Flame, on the ground.

"Flame!"

He was breathing heavily. "Thistleclaw did this…"

"Don't move, I'll be right back. You'll be okay."

"I'll be with you forever… Remember me." His eyelids began to close.

"Flame! No!" I yowled in grief. I licked his paw, trying to wake him up, but he was gone.

Hearing that Thistleclaw had killed Flame made me outraged. Especially since he had just gotten an apprentice name Tigerpaw. Lionpaw and Bluepaw became warriors (Lionheart and Bluefur respectively) and I moved to the Nursery.

By then, I hadn't refused when Thistleclaw had announced us mates. Not even when he thought the kits were his.

I had one kit. He had Flame's orange pelt, and my green eyes. I named him Flamekit in honor of Flame, his father. I tried to keep Thistleclaw away from him, but it didn't take more than a heartbeat to realize that it wasn't his kit.

"I want it out of my sight!" He yowled.

I sneaked out of the Nursery one night and brought kit and I to the edge of the territory. I found Flower, a brown kittypet who had always shown respect to the clans. I knew she had kitted recently, and I asked her to take Flamekit from me.

"Who would make you do such a thing?" she demanded. "Take a kit from his mother?"

"Please Flower," I asked, "I need you to."

"Ah well, bring him over here," she brought me into the Twoleg nest while her Twolegs were gone. "He'll fit right in with Princess." A small tabby she-cat was laying on a layer of moss-like bedding. "I'll name you Rusty for your adorable flaming pelt."

Thistleclaw and I had another kit named Goldenkit. She had a pale golden pelt, and was a very quiet, kit for me to nurse. I was still grieving Flame, not having gotten over him.

I caught greencough during Leafbare, and I had to give Goldenkit to Speckletail to nurse. Featherwhisker and his new apprentice Spottedpaw did everything they could do for me but I knew it was time to join Flame.

"Do not waste any herbs on me," I protested as they tried to give me feverfew, "I'm going to join StarClan."

"Betcha can't catch me!" Rusty mewed.

"Betcha I can!" Princess mewed back.

"No you can't!" Rusty started to race away with Princess right at his tail.

"Come kits," Flower meowed, "It's dinnertime. The housefolk are in the kitchen."

"Yum! Food!" Princess abandoned their game and raced to the kitchen.

"Yuck," Rusty thought, "Dry pellets." He had had the same dream for a long time now, of mice and the forest.

"Bye Princess!" Rusty called from his cage.

"Will I ever see you again?" Princess asked.

"I'm sure you will."

"Hello! My name is Smudge. What's your name?"

"I'm Rusty."

Steady… steady… stay still… and pounce! Aaaahhhh! Who's on me?

"Who're you?" a gray kitten fluffed his fur at him.

"I'm Rusty."

"Oh. You're obviously not a clan cat."

"I name you…"

"Firepaw!" a blue she-cat raised her head on a huge rock.

"Fireheart!" the blue she-cat bent down to touch noses with him.

"Firestar!" this time, the blue she-cat stood at the top of a shining pool of water.

"Your mother a kittypet?"

"Yes."

"Your father a kittypet?"

"Yes."

"Interesting…"

"He's Suntail's son… I'm sure of it!" elders sat together to talk about the newest apprentice.

"How can it be? Suntail never had a mate!"

"What about Thistleclaw?"

"The tom looks nothing like him!"

"I seem to remember her being a bit overfriendly with a rogue we caught on our territory."

"What was his name again? Fire? Flame?"

"Flame! That was it!"

Firepaw sat down at the sandy gorge.

"Firepaw…" the wind seemed to whisper. "A Sun's Flame…"

"Who's there?" Firepaw called, but he received no reply.

**Tada! So it isn't very good. Not as good as my latest HP story, but good enough to get my idea out on paper. Or in a word document. Whatever. So it is a bit choppy, could use some editing, but I think the idea is good, no? I wonder if anyone else on this site has written about Firestar's parents…**

**Luv,**

**Grassy**


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